A great man remembered

I was fascinated by and enjoyed Rob Hume’s excellent obituary for Ian ‘DIM’ Wallace ( Birdwatch 354: 16-17). Ian was a true legend and one of the great names of British birding for many decades. It was a privilege to have known him, although we only met twice. We corresponded and phoned on a number of occasions.

His father worked for Bloomfields, a Great Yarmouth company which owned steam and diesel herring drifters. His father was, I believe, later a director, although primarily based in Scotland. Both his parents followed the fishing fleets down the North Sea from Scotland to East Anglia each autumn and while they were in Great Yarmouth in 1933, Ian was unexpectedly born. He mentions this in one of his earlier books; from memory, I think it was Discover Birds (1979).

Ian helped me in numerous ways, especially with the identification of several ‘small stints’ I encountered in my earlier days, and also sending me photographs of herring drifters which his father photographed. This is another interest of mine – the story of the now defunct herring industry of Great Yarmouth.

I’ve kept several of his letters over the years. I’m not sure why, but I’m so glad they are still in my collection, along with some snippets from the great Richard Richardson. Peter Allard, via email